How to Fix a Cracked Windshield

When the absolute perfection of your car's windshield is blemished by a crack, dent or chip, it need not be the end of its life line. There is no need to go for a car windshield replacement, if the damage is localized and small in magnitude. There are repair techniques which can restore the windshield back to its wholly transparent optical glory. In this article, I'll explain how to fix a cracked windshield when the damage is low to moderate, using a repair kit.

Your car windshield is vulnerable to damage from all kinds of projectiles hitting it, from stones launched by passing cars, to stone pelting maniacs on the street. When the cracks are right in front of the driver's side on the left, you can't even ignore them for long.

Having suffered from this problem of cracks, dents and chips on the car windshield, I was in search of a repair kit which could solve the problem easily and indeed I found several such solutions. In the next section, I'll explain how to fix a cracked windshield, with a moderate amount of damage using a resin based repair kit.

Fixing a Cracked Windshield Using Repair Kit

Your windshield glass hardens from molten glass that is given shape in a foundry. Once damaged and cracked, there is no way you can remold the glass. The only way out is to fix the damage by closing the cracks using resin based sealants, which restore transparency. The repair kits available in the market, which can fix these cracks, dents or chips consist of a suction cup based tool, used to grip the glass, a resin based sealant and a thin film used to cover the drying area.

Let me say right at the start that this repair kit works best in fixing small bull's eye shaped cracks or chips. They are not so effective at fixing long branching cracks. Those of kind of high damage cracks will require attention of a windshield repair specialist.

Firstly, the damaged area, chip or circular crack is cleaned for any small particulate glass pieces, which might be still lingering in there. Carefully pick out any of the small glass pieces out of the crack. Once you have removed the small pieces, wash the part thoroughly and let it dry.

After drying, use the suction cup tool, with four extending arms and position it in such a way that the four arms grip the area around the crack and its central hole is directly positioned over the crack. Then insert the resin tube into the central hole and compress it to inject three to four drops of the resin directly into the crack. Next, you can remove the tube and insert a plunger, which will tighten the grip on the windshield, to pull it together.

Let it stay that way for some time, after which you can remove the suction tool and cover the area with a film, till the resin dries. The special resin will harden in a few minutes, filling in the crack entirely and restoring the transparency of the windshield back again. This kit works for rock chip repair and windshield chip repairs.

How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Cracked Windshield?

The cost to fix a cracked windshield is entirely dependent on the scale of damage. If the damage is low, you can use a repair kit which costs anywhere between $12 to around $40. If the damage is moderately high and you are unable to fix the cracks, ask a car repair technician, who specializes in auto windshield replacement and repair, to fix it for you. This may cost anywhere between $50 to $100. If the cost exceeds that, it's best to go for a replacement.

As discussed before, if the damage is extensive and the cracks have expanded and branched too much, the entire repair job will cost more than the price of a replacement windshield! In such a case, you may have no option but to go for a car windshield replacement. Try out one of the cracked windshield repair kits available in the market, which can fix a small amount of damage quite easily. Consult windshield repair technicians and consider the cost involved in repair. If it exceeds or almost reaches the cost of a new windshield, go for a replacement instead.